This is slow sunny lockdown day if ever there was one. The after effects of the Covid jab have gone away especially after we went for an hours riding before lunch. The afternoon is another one of those watching the world go by or this time it was watching the paddlers and the pelicans go by. Those birds were in no hurry today just happy to move slowly along the coast. I do have some video from the other day showing a feeding session.
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| cycle view |
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| Pelican's below |
Debbie got a message from some where that three years ago we were sitting on our beach here in late May and with a photo to prove it. So we went down for a look as we had not been for a while and it was within 5km of the house. We took a rubbish bag but only found a few small things like cigarette butts and twine etc. The walk cleared our heads as we still seemed to be in a bit of a doldrum state after our covid shot. I can tell you that my arm is sorer today compared to yesterday. The upstairs deck seems to be the best place for the afternoon. We have not put our bins out for three weeks and have lost track of what goes when as we have not been around for a while. I hope it is the recycle as that one is brimming.
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| low tide groyne - the repaired camera is working but I need to set the 16:9 format |
This is quote from Patrick Durack when challenged about becoming a cattle king and hogging huge tracts of land but he replied if he was, it was in a grass castle that could all blow away in the next drought. When you read this book you will never complain about your lifestyle ever again. These guys always decided to move to harder and harder country. Just when they were getting on top they would move to the back of Bourke, then even farther out at the top of WA. His Australian life was from 1853 to 1898 and in that time brought so many relatives to Australia that it was like a little Ireland in the West of QLD. It became a huge dynasty that still continues. The books were made into a TV series in 1998, I have two left to read.
These guys have only been around 20 years or so and do a lot of their research at Cambridge University. We went to the Bellarine Respiratory Centre today for our COVID jab No 1. This place was transformed 18 months ago by COVID testing with queues down the street and marquee style tents to cope with the demand. This time was no different, same queues same marquee but they were dispensing the medicine in an assembly line type of set up where we stopped at four different points along the line. The whole thing took no longer than 30 minutes. So far no side effects.
I have been doing some follow up after our Airbnb. There seems to be a lot of baggage associated with these bookings. Years ago bed and breakfasts were a lot simpler and the one's we used then were five star. I have not bothered to count the emails that have been generated by this system but it must be over 50 of them. This last lot is about ratings. I did complete a public one where I said the house was OK especially the heating but it got negative points for no dishwasher. There is also a private one that the owner gets where I also added a comment about his crappy bunk beds. I would give the house a 2½. In return I got a public reply about being a highly recommended guest who kept the house tidy and emptied the bins for him. Last night the clouds cleared for a look at the full moon but when we went out there it was covered by the Earth's shadow. The video shows how the light bleeds outward at the edges.
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| Doctor Debbie |
Some hotspots have been declared nearby here and now the limitation of home gatherings has come in so the Taylors are off back to Brisbane a day early. The QLD rules are more severe for returning Brisbanites so we will get them to the airport this afternoon before the 6:00pm deadline. Last night Evie was getting a bit cranky so Debbie installed a white noise app on her phone and selected the Conch Shell routine. This sounds like water breaking on the shore. Evie calmed down and was asleep in minutes. It was like magic with the click of a finger. The washing machine has been brought into play as at least 12 of Evie's suits have been pooed on so far. At least there will be a clean batch to take back.
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| Baby sleeping instrument |
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| Last night's visitors |
We have had Clancy Day and Roberts Day so we had to have a Taylor Day as well. This house has crazy shades on some windows where you take a handle and crank them open and closed and other windows like at the dining table where the Sun streams in with no protection. Jill made it in by Train from Euroa and Uncle Blair got a pooey nappy cleanup 101 lesson during his visit. Very memorable! Evie has been sleeping, smiling and pooing all day. Jill's home grown pumpkin (0ne of 40 large pumpkins from just one plant) is being prepared for soup. There is just one more visitor appointment for late afternoon.
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| Playing with Laura's hand me down toys |
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| Running a farm is hard work |
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| Taylors All |
What is the collective name for cousins? A Company of Cousins. The day has gone well and the house has stood up to the crush even with a visit from the landlord who did not seem too fussed about all the extra visitors. It has a setting for 6 but we fed 14 for lunch. Debbie made lasagne and sausage rolls with some salad. We did not get to the pumpkin soup but that will be handy tonight. The photo session required a few pauses for a nappy change however was completed with out too much baby angst in under an hour. There were many combinations. After lunch it was a stroll around the local path and now it is afternoon siesta time.
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| Couch Cousins |
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| Strolling with the strollers |
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| Take Two |
This baby Evie is a born aviatrix taking her first flight like a walk in the park. So far the Evie visit is a smooth affair as the house looks to have everything needed but we have not spent our first night yet. I was able to install the SBS on Demand so that means our bicycle watching is assured. Now we can get onto the baby business. The car seat has worked well with a slight adjustment of the straps. The pub lunch was more like a creche or kindergarten gathering, we used just about every high chair in the place. Debbie has come back with a massive shop for 5 of us for 4 days.
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| Pascoe Pub |
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| Kiddie Corner front to back Jack Joshy Isla and Asher |
A Kestrel just landed on my window sill here but he was gone again before I could even turn for a camera, got a good view of the hooked beak and claws though. Now where was I. It was a very sunny day and no wind so we got the bikes out for an afternoon ride but shortened it to get to the post office for a package. These delivery people consistently sneak up to leave a card but no package. Also had time for some afternoon Sun on the deck and a haircut for the weekends photo shoot.
PS Bill's niece Sarah was selected for the Australian Olympic Team Road Race and Time Trial in Tokyo. I would have gone along to watch but no one is allowed to go.
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| Jetty Road |
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| Deck Sun |
We have been a bit slack here as far as the harvesting goes of late or are we just concentrating on grand kids. I did an inspection of the grounds and can see that the tomatoes are coming to the end. I did get about 50 just now but we have previously gotten hundreds at a time. There are still strawberries but the pests are eating them quicker than we can pick them. The orchids have taken to their most recent position near the water tank and are standing proud. It is a very productive area as the lemon tree is weighed down with new fruit. I only just put a batch of 30 or so out the front a few weeks back. I still have olives to distribute but most likely will deliver them to the "Produce Tree". We have last years olives from James and Heidi but we cannot open the jar even with a jar wrench. Poop.
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| tank orchids |
It was a good day for a ride at least as far as Drysdale and back. I had a situation that I could write in for The Age. I had rung up the massage lady who had a free space in the morning so I rode there for a massage. Towards the end the tinkle tinkle of the door chime announced the next person had arrived but instead of just sitting on the waiting couch he goes HELLOOOO. She goes out and ushers him into the next cubicle but says it will be a few minutes. Then we hear him on his phone, HELLOOOOO, I'M AFTER ONE OF THOSE BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORS. This went on for the rest of the time. I could have waited until he was nice and relaxed then started banging on the window outside or kept ringing up to make bogus appointments. I think Danny Katz would have approved. Instead I went across to the shops and bought some blini. (russian pancakes)
I did a few chores including lots of catch up washing but mostly sat at the computer also in catchup mode. The videos turned out OK from the last few days and I have featured yet another of the Asher in the cubby preparing the food. Also did quite a few films of compiled photos from a 2013 cruise we did around Greece.
The street at the top of the stairs said Horse Shoe Bend. That was a place I vaguely remembered from the Brimbank park days of running around there with kids however the Horseshoe Bend area was always on the other side of the river. We walked into the old farm there and could have spent more time but we had to get out at 9:30am. Asher was raring to go and it was probably one day to many for me but that doesn't mean the show can't go on. As usual we had the Giro going in the back ground and we were always looking for the Pink man as he was going very fast. This meant we had to get the peddleless bike going on the deck.
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| Lego train and baby pusher |
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| Pioneer transport |
I used to live under the flight path for Essendon Airport before Tullamarine was built. Those planes were noisy but you got used to it. There is no train curfew at weekends. I can report that trains run all night on Saturday night and they have to announce their presence approaching the road crossings with a blast of the horn. Asher seems to let all that go passed and her room is metres from the track. We got her going in the morning or was it the other way around for a bit of shopping and babycino. She had one of those shopping centre rides so Grand Parent spoiling there.
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| Kangaroo Police Car |
We had some packing to do and a few tidy up jobs before heading to Asher's house but I did not plan to spend an hour in the olive tree this morning. This is the last batch of olives for this year around three kilos. We made it in good time at around 12:30pm in time for pumpkin soup. It was an indoors afternoon as cold wind and the odd showers were blowing. Book reading, bluey watching and the obstacle course filled in the time. Tim and Julie came over for a visit so Asher was well occupied with extra visitors while her parents were off partying for the first time in a while. After her bath she has gotten to sleep without too many false starts. Now let's see how the overnighter goes.
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| On the new couch |
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| cheese dip and zucchini slice |
About the highest tide you can get around here is 1.2m which is what is happening this week. Add in a northerly wind and the water can be pushed higher. Add in that it is happening around dusk so that already dark water gets darker quicker. And now you need just a few hundred steps to get to 10,000 then you will be having an adventure of a walk so as to get the magic daily milestone. She, who will not be named but lives here, was up to her knees, first in black water then in waist high scrub. All for the cause of getting the council to bulldoze some sort of path along the high ground.
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| sea grass mulch |
Certainly a stamp day today as the weather closed in. Some other desk bound projects included hunting out photos from Europe in 2013 with Ross and Fran as we did some touring and bike riding thru Italy, seeing I am also trying to watch 4 hours a day of the Giro d'italia. I am piecing these together into films for upload to Google photos, also complete with a sound track. Did some more video editing from last week as we found ourselves in the Keilor adventure play area. The last job today is getting around to our tax returns from last year.
It is meant to be a recovery day today however the cloud cleared and the breeze dropped to a stillness, so we got on the bikes in the afternoon. It coincided with school pickup time so where the bike paths cross the school zones is tricky. They escapees sprawl out over the paths. There is a lot of riding to school here which seemed to disappear in Essendon. There was one kid who was determined to race and flew past us going downhill. This was on a road section as well. We stopped for a photo shoot on some high ground. The boat ramps are always busy.
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| dredging the entrance |
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| skeleton pier |
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| phone photos |
It was a wet drive over to Estelle's house in Watsonia and a truck broke down which meant the last 2km took 30 minutes. Serenity Now. No Phasements. Estelle was up when we got there so that part was good timing. We managed the deliveries which seems to be a constant feature of this household, including the plumber who is going to install some agricultural pipes down the high side of the house. I had the Giro D'talia playing in the back ground while we put one of the deliveries together, which was a bedside table and drawer, for Estelle. Debbie made pumpkin soup for lunch as it really was a soup day.
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| Maribyrnong from yesterday |
We got the Netflix going in the hotel room and even better also got to see the Giro d'talia via the laptop. Mind you when others started using the hotel's wifi it all slowed to a crawl. The Asher show started at 7:00am the next morning but I waited at the Motel until about 10:00am when we wandered down to the local park and playground before the rain came. The park here has an adventure type play area with lots of equipment. Across the road at the cafe it was babycino and cup cake time. We also got some quiche to warm up later for lunch. They gave Asher a helium balloon which was the star of the show for the rest of the day.
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| Asher Swinger |
Daniel and Bianca's was he venue for a Mother's day Lunch. Debbie made some sausage rolls, lasagne and pumpkin soup. Even getting them there was a bit tricky not to mention out luggage and the flower pots. All together we had five mothers there and it was all timed to finish around 2:00pm so that Bianca could have her Mother's Day football wish of getting off to the Bulldogs v Carlton game although last time I checked the Blues were leading. We took Nana back home and then headed to the Keilor Motel. There was time for a short walk along the Maribyrnong so that we could get up to 10,000 steps today. After all that it was easy to get down for an afternoon snooze.
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| Heidi, the newest Mother and Estelle with cousin Asher the helper |
I am having trouble gripping at the moment. I get pain out the end of my elbows. I had this issue some years back where I had to wear a brace around my right forearm. I had it on for nearly a year but the problem healed well enough. This time around I am wearing them on both arms. Driving, riding and mowing are three activities that aggravate this problem but there are also ways of doing those without actually gripping hard in the previous manner. Even sleeping is a problem, as I cannot have my arms in a position with the elbow pointed. I will aim to get these cuffs off in six months.
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| hand cuffs for your arms |
Hooray I have finished the last book in this four volume mega yarn about dragons, their riders and the nasty King who would like to knock them all off. Not a bad effort for a teenager writer. The good guys were always going to win. Since we are talking Dragons, the world's most watched show, Game of Thrones, is starting up again with the family Targaryen doing their thing but set 300 yar before Daenerys. You can't keep a good show down.
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Car maintenance isn't as simple as it was in Essendon. This appointment was overdue as covid cancelled the last one. It is a four hour exercise in Geelong and is also literally exercise as I took the bicycle with me. I went along both sides of the Barwon up to Barwon Edge cafe. They have closed the restaurant but moved into the boat shed next door. Covid has reduced clientele but it is picking up now. My camera is not focusing properly so I did a spur of the moment ride into Geelong to give it to the cameraman. After all that I had to wait in the Subaru lounge. Not all bad, with coffee machine, newspapers etc. The Geelong Addy declares that the Bellarine Peninsula has seen its last real estate development. The new growth areas are West and North with over 100,000 house blocks approved by the State Govt. Just in time too as land sales have set records each month this year with 610 blocks sold last month. At this rate there are only enough for one more month. The new areas are 50 sq kilometres. Good they will all be away from us.
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| blurred - I have three cameras, all of which are broken in some way. So I will have to make do with a phone. |
We had the six monthly Super review and as far as banking, share markets and investing go it seems there is no pandemic and all systems are go. We have also found that as well with PB, as right across the small business bookkeeping world we still have customers coming on board. Our other job today was flu shots and the chemist we went to was a bit haphazard. He said they are hoping to do COVID shots as well but we thought we would bypass them. Our doctor is fully booked for COVID for months and months. They are not taking any more bookings. We have a respiratory clinic nearby but we have to wait another week to book. I did some video editing as well before we sat on the deck checking out the dolphins.
Coffee TimeThis Grand parenting business requires much action close to the ground. So there is a lot of getting up and getting down, picking up and putting down, swinging up and swinging round. We got another delivery today, Debbie has invested in a gym set that uses only your own body weight. There is an option to add a few weights but I am not convinced this will get its full use. It is set up in the garage where there is already an exercise area and now that we have light in that spot, it is fitness central. All we need now are sweaty bodies.
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| It folds away in three clicks. |
The hotel has overflowing gutters which makes for a noisy water fall during the night. There was still a lot of sleeping with a sleep score of 87 compared to 70 the night before. The morning started with scrambled eggs across the road. In my school days this would have been labelled as a bad sentence eg Across the road I had some scrambled eggs for breakfast. We made our way to Watsonia for a baby visit. Heidi was checked out by the gynecologist who was happy with the progress. Estelle is having a growth spurt as I saw her grow at least 1cm this afternoon. In amongst that is feeding and fidgeting.
The first thing after a cuddle is "Do you want to read a book?" So there were two book readings including the same book twice. I prefer the rhyming style such as the Pig in a Wig. The pig picked up a wig that fell off a truck then on the last page a hat fell in front of a cat. Get it. After that it was lots of cooking in the cubby house then much running doing rounders on the deck. A 90 min sleep gave us a chance to recover. I am using a different laptop so I am trying to get a photo from Debbie's google photo cloud space.
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| I need to get taller |
I have had some auction action of late building up a Winter stockpile. I got two deliveries of ex dealers stock. These dealers must have certain mottos to live buy, eg administration is key or paperwork must prevail. There are more arrows, circles and elephant stamps than a kindergarten. I can see initials in triplicate, tabulations and numerous notations not to mention the table on the back of each one.
My most recent auction was yesterday and a bizarre one it was too. These guys haven't progressed too much past email as far as technology goes. You can place a bid via the internet (really just another email). They send a message back the day before auction informing me that my bid is now too low with no mention of the new high but it is also too late to increase it unless you ring them up. So I did that and increased my bid to $350. After the auction I get another email to say the bid was not successful but I can look up the result on the webpage. This tells me it was sold for $275 so way under what I bid for it. Eventually I got them on the phone and the guy says we will have to look into this. Finally I get another email that says SOLD to me for $300. Maybe they took off $50 for the stuff up. I wonder what the person who had $275 said after they took it back off them.
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| The stamp police will be happy with this passport |
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| Note Page no 402549 I got 60 of these pages. |
